Park Board delays vote on cannon

Thursday

May 29, 2008 at 12:01 AMMay 29, 2008 at 7:28 PM

Residents express concern for future of Glen Oak Park memorial.

Joe Crawford

The Peoria Park Board pushed back a vote on whether to dismantle and store the parapet and cannon at Glen Oak Park on Wednesday night after comments from several residents apprehensive about the future of the war memorial.

Board President Tim Cassidy said park district staff members needed more time to determine whether the dismantling of the historical landmark could be avoided by employing a structural engineer.

"The idea is before we tear it down to find out whether there is an alternative," Cassidy said.

The proposal to employ a structural engineer was made by Les Kenyon, a representative from the Central Illinois Historical Landmarks Association, during public comments.

Mike Friberg, a planner with the park district, presented a plan to remove the cannon and disassemble the stone parapet on which it sits during the public hearing.

The structure, a memorial of the Spanish-American War, has been held in place by a steel cable since large cracks appeared in the walls in 2002. The area near the cannon is now fenced off, and a sign warns visitors the stone fort is an "unstable structure."

The park district's plan involves the storage of the cannon and the stones making up the parapet while work is done to determine how the historical landmark can be better stabilized. Once repair work is finished, the board would decide the exact fate of the memorial.

A number of residents said they wanted assurance the historical landmark would eventually be put back in the spot its held for more than a century.

"We are assuming that we can trust you to put each of those stones back the way they were," said Maleita King, 72, of Peoria.

King said she was concerned that board trustees might come and go during the project, and plans for the cannon could get lost in the mix. The memorial might remain in storage indefinitely or be transplanted to another park, she said.

"Don't even consider moving that cannon anywhere but where it is," King said.

Trustee Roger Allen said the park district had every intention of restoring the cannon and parapet to its original state. A location change is not a possibility, he said.

"There's no way any of us would consider moving it out of this park," Allen said.

The parapet was built in Glen Oak Park in 1899, and the cannon was placed on the wall in 1900.

Sara Partridge, 74, of Peoria said she has lived a block away from the park her entire life. She said too much of the park's history already has been destroyed, and it is imperative the district maintain the cannon.

Especially before it was fenced off, she said the memorial was an essential part of a trip to the park for most visitors.

"There wasn't a child who came to the park who didn't climb on that cannon," she said.